Friday, November 29, 2013

Is Self-Pay Better Than Medicaid?

If a person near the poverty line can afford to pay a doctor out of pocket, they may be better off not showing their Medicaid card. According to the New York Times, Medicaid Growth Could Aggravate Doctor Shortage. That is because existing doctors are expected to treat a growing number patients for a shrinking amount of money per visit.

In California, with the nation’s largest Medicaid population, many
doctors say they are already overwhelmed and are unable to take on more
low-income patients. Dr. Hector Flores, a primary care doctor in East
Los Angeles whose practice has 26,000 patients, more than a third of
whom are on Medicaid, said he could accommodate an additional 1,000
Medicaid patients at most...

Payment rates for Medicaid, known in California as Medi-Cal, are also
low here compared with most states, and are being cut by an additional
10 percent in some cases just as the expansion begins.

Americans who qualify for Medicaid under the newly-expanded rules aren't eligible for subsidies on the new Obamacare exchanges, making it easier for many working-class Americans to get health insurance at the same time that it makes it harder for them to get health care.

A growing number of citizens are learning creative ways to pay their own bills, as Sean Parnell explains at TheSelfPayPatient.com. I'll be eager to learn what Sean says about hiding your Medicaid card from your doctor!